Woodstock Police Officer Facing Charges

A Woodstock police constable is facing an impaired driving charge after he allegedly left the scene of an accident last month.

Woodstock police say they received a report of a single-vehicle accident at Dundas St. and Oxford St. on the 4th of July, but the car left the scene before officers arrived. Investigation found the vehicle left the roadway and hit a Canada Post mailbox and then came to a rest on a wooden fence.

Woodstock police say one of their own, 29-year-old Mitchell Blair, is charged with impaired operation of a motor vehicle and failing to report damage to property under the Highway Traffic Act.

The chief of the Woodstock Police Service has released a statement on the charges, although the allegations relate to an investigation that occurred when Constable Blair was off duty.

“It is always regrettable when an officer becomes involved in an offence such as these allegations of Impaired Driving and Failing to Report Damage to Property,” Chief Rod Freeman says. “However, it is important to allow the charges to move through the court process without prejudice.”